Wheel alignment is often overlooked by busy Wyoming and Wyoming car owners until serious tire damage has been done. One wheel can be knocked out of alignment by hitting a curb or pothole on a Wyoming interstate or surface street.

When a vehicle’s out of alignment, one or more of the wheels does not track true and pulls against the others. This causes several serious problems. First off, the tires will wear out faster and will need to be replaced prematurely. It could also lead to expensive vehicle suspension problems.

But the big issue for Wyoming, Wyoming, and Wyoming car owners is safety. When your vehicle wheels are out of alignment, the vehicle will pull to one side, which could lead to an accident. When you’re out of alignment, you should have it taken care of right away at Bob & Dave’s Garage in Wyoming.

When undergoing an alignment service at Bob & Dave’s Garage, your vehicle is put on an alignment rack where the tires, steering and suspension parts are checked for damage. Then the alignment is charted and checked against the factory settings.

Precision adjustments are made to bring the wheels back into alignment. This gets all four wheels going in exactly the same direction.

Wyoming car owners should be aware of the signs of alignment problems. These include the car pulling to one side. Also, the steering wheel may not be centered when you’re going straight. If you see the edges of one or more tires rapidly wearing down, you should have your Wyoming service center look it over. If you’ve been in an auto accident in Michigan that involved a wheel, you should get your alignment checked.

Obviously, a big jolt can seriously knock things out of alignment, but Wyoming drivers also need to understand that a series of smaller ones can add up.

That’s why auto makers recommend periodic alignment checks. If your vehicle owner’s manual doesn’t specify, once a year might be appropriate. Or check with Todd Bartrand or your service advisor at Bob & Dave’s Garage in Wyoming.

One thing’s for sure: the cost of the alignment at Bob & Dave’s Garage is cheaper for Wyoming car owners than having to buy a couple of new tires because of neglect.

Your car might have an alignment problem if: it drifts or pulls to one side, your steering wheel is off center, you have uneven tire wear or your car doesn’t feel like it handles right. When all of a vehicle’s wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Running into potholes, smacking a curb or other object are great ways to knock your car out of alignment. Then one or more of your wheels starts pulling in a slightly different direction and the problems begin.

Driving for an extended time when you’re out of alignment causes your bobanddavesgarage.com.ebozavr.com tires ” href=”http://bobanddavesgarage.com/main/” target=”_blank”>tires to wear unevenly and excessively. This can be dangerous and expensive. You’ll have to replace your tires sooner, but even worse – you may cause premature wear to your suspension system, which can be really expensive.

The front wheel alignment is adjustable on all vehicles, and the back wheels are also adjustable on some cars. The adjustment can go three different ways. The first adjustment is called toe. The next adjustment is called camber. And finally, there is castor. The engineers who designed your vehicle determined the alignment settings that will give you the best handling and safety.

There are several things involved in an alignment check. First, there’s an inspection of the steering and suspension – it should be checked to see if anything’s bent or broken. Then the tire condition needs to be inspected. From there, the vehicle is put on an alignment rack and an initial alignment reading is taken. If all four wheels are adjustable, they are lined up perfectly parallel with the vehicle’s center line. If the back wheels aren’t adjustable, a technician at Bob & Dave’s Garage can determine the direction they push and then aligns the front wheels to match.

Bob & Dave’s Garage
2863 Byron Center Ave
Wyoming, Michigan 49519
616-532-7209

Like most things, your manufacturer has suggested a mileage interval for having your alignment checked. But if you run into a curb, pothole or something else that’s given you a big jolt, pay attention to whether your vehicle is pulling to one side when you drive. It’s better to have your alignment checked before waiting to see if there is uneven tire tread wear – by then, the damage is done.

Getting your alignment checked when needed is a great way to extend the life of your tires and suspension parts. It also makes sure that your tire meets the road properly for maximum performance and safety.

Imagine you’ve left Wyoming and you’re up in the arctic on a dog sled.

Your dog team is pulling straight and true. You can cover a lot of ground fast. Now imagine what would happen if one or two of the dogs wanted to go their own way and were pulling off to the side.

That would slow you down. You would have to work harder to keep the sled going where you want it. The dogs are all working as hard as before, but you’re covering less ground for the same effort.

You’re wasting kibble.

The same is true of your vehicle when the wheels are out of alignment. That wheel that’s pulling to the side is dragging down the rest of the car; so you push a little harder on the gas pedal to keep up your speed. You’re wasting gas.

So have your wheel alignment checked at least once a year. Get it checked right away if you feel the car pulling to one side.

Sometimes we bump a curb or hit a pothole and knock our wheels out of alignment. An accident can take the wheels out of alignment as well.

Bob & Dave’s Garage
2863 Byron Center Ave
Wyoming, Michigan 49519
616-532-7209

So make sure you’re tracking straight. You’ll save gas and your tires’ll last longer. Now, mush!

North Americans love their cars. And nothing goes with cars better than the road trip.

Freedom from daily schedules, new sights and the open road – it’s great! But there’s nothing like car trouble to bring the fun to a grinding halt.

Now you can’t always avoid problems, but you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting sidelined on your trip.

The first step is to look at your trip plan from your vehicle’s perspective. What kind of roads will you be traveling – winding byways or super-highway

s? Mountains or plains

? What weather conditions are you likely to encounter

? How many miles will you travel? How much weight will you be hauling – passengers and luggag

e? Lugging a trailer or roof top carrier? Will it be dusty

?

Armed with the answers to these questions, you can start a trip inspection to help you prepare your Wyoming vehicle for your big adventure. A lot of our Wyoming customers prefer to go through this exercise with an automotive service advisor at Bob & Dave’s Garage to get their input and make sure they haven’t left anything out.

A great place to start is with the tires.

Inspect them for tread wear and proper inflation. Is it time to rotate your tires? Replace them? Are they up to the job – you wouldn’t want to drive regular highway tires on a muddy off-road adventure.

Shocks and struts play a major role in both driving comfort and safety. If they need to be replaced, you’ll really be glad you did once you hit the road.

Is it time for a wheel alignment? Fighting a car that’s pulling to one side all day can be tiring and dangerous.

And don’ t forge

t your brakes.

Any strange noises, grabbing, soft or hard peddle feel

? If there is any doubt, get a brake inspection before you leave.

Moving under the hood, have your belts and hoses inspected. If something is excessively worn or near failure, the stress of a long road trip might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Your engine air filter will be important. For every gallon of gas you burn, your car will filter and use 12,000 gallons of air. If the filter needs to be changed, you’ll notice the fuel savings on your trip.

How close are you to your next oil change

? Will you be able to complete your trip before it’s due? If not, just get it taken care of before you go so that you don’t need to interrupt your trip.

In fact, a full service oil change is a great idea because they will top off all your fluids and check to see if any other maintenance items are due, such as transm

ission or cooling system service.

Do you notice any unusual odors in your vehicle

? If so, it could as harmless as a dirty cabin air filter. But if it’s an exhaust leak it could be fatal on a long trip.   Of course you’ll want to be comfortable, so get an air conditioning service if you aren’t getting the cold air you used to.

Are you wiper blades still working well

? If not, that is quick and inexpensive to fix.

Headlamps are often overlooked when planning for a trip. If you haven’t changed the bulb in six months or so, replacement bulbs will really light up the night on your trip.

All the items mentioned are part of any good vehicle maintenance plan. These are things that you want to take care of anyway, but they all come into focus as you plan for your trip.

They will always save you money in the long run and may prevent inconvenient delays on your trip.

After all, you wouldn’t want to miss the world’s largest ball of string, would you?